Uttar Pradesh
Varanasi
A focused two-night stop near Assi or Dashashwamedh ghat: take the sunrise boat the morning after you land, watch the Ganga aarti from the water, and give the cremation ghats the patience they're owed.
Best length
2 nights
Airport
Lal Bahadur Shastri (VNS), Babatpur, ~26km northwest
Airport to centre
Pre-paid taxi ~45-60 min to the ghats; ~₹800-1,000
Best base
Assi Ghat for calm; Dashashwamedh for the aarti
In short
Varanasi at a glance
Varanasi works best as a focused 2-night stop, not a fly-by day trip: base yourself near Assi or Dashashwamedh ghat, take the sunrise boat the morning after you arrive, watch the Ganga aarti from the water that same evening, and give the cremation ghats and the spice-lane chaos the respect and patience they need. Most UK travellers slot it onto the Golden Triangle by the overnight train or a domestic flight, and the single biggest mistake is treating it as a tick-box monument city rather than a working pilgrimage one.
The short version
- Base near Assi Ghat for a calmer first stay, or Dashashwamedh if you want the main aarti on your doorstep.
- Take the sunrise boat, not the sunset one: the river light and the bathing ghats at dawn are the whole reason to come.
- Watch the Ganga aarti at Dashashwamedh from a hired boat rather than the packed steps — you'll see more and fight fewer crowds.
- At Manikarnika and Harishchandra, the working cremation ghats, never photograph the pyres and walk away from anyone demanding a 'donation' for the wood.
- Two nights is plenty: one sunrise boat, one aarti, the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor and a half-day at Sarnath, then move on.
Varanasi is not a monument city you photograph and leave; it’s a working pilgrimage one, where people come to bathe, pray and die on the same stretch of river you’re floating past at dawn. That’s the thing first-timers get wrong — they arrive expecting a sightseeing checklist and instead meet a wall of sound, smoke and intensity in lanes too narrow for the cow blocking them, and either recoil or try to “do” it in an afternoon. The trick is to lower your pace to the river’s: take the sunrise boat, watch the aarti from the water, and let the rest reveal itself rather than chasing it.
Two nights is the right length — enough for one dawn on the Ganges, one evening ceremony, the Vishwanath Corridor and a calm half-day at Sarnath, without the place grinding you down. Base near Assi if you want to ease in, or Dashashwamedh if you want the main aarti on your doorstep and don’t mind the crush. Below, the structured planning — where to stay, what to book, how to arrive from Babatpur, and a realistic budget in pounds and rupees — picks up from here.
Keep a first trip focused: book the big timed sights, then leave room for neighbourhoods and food.
Top things to do in Varanasi
Ganga aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat
Every night after dark, priests perform the Ganga aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat — a choreographed fire-and-lamp ceremony with bells, incense and conch shells facing the river. It is free from the steps, but they get packed; hire a boat and watch from the water instead, where you see the whole row of priests and dodge the crush on the ghat itself.
Sunrise boat ride on the Ganges
The defining Varanasi experience is to be out on the Ganges as the sun comes up over the bathing ghats, with pilgrims doing puja and the old city slowly waking behind them. Go at first light, agree the price clearly before you step into the boat, and ask for a hand-rowed boat rather than a noisy motor so you drift quietly past the ghats.
Where to stay first
The areas that make a first visit easier — not an exhaustive directory.
Assi Ghat
££ mid-rangeThe southern, more open end of the riverfront, with a calmer morning aarti of its own, cafes and easier road access for taxis. The sensible first-timer base if the full old-city chaos sounds like too much.
Best for: First-timers wanting a calmer base
Dashashwamedh Ghat
£ valueThe heart of it: the main Ganga aarti, the busiest steps and the densest tangle of lanes. Atmospheric and central but loud, crowded and hard to reach by car — you'll walk the last stretch with your bags.
Best for: Atmosphere, the main aarti on your doorstep
The old-city galis (around Bengali Tola)
£ valueThe maze of narrow lanes behind the central ghats, full of guesthouses, silk shops and temples. Brilliant for atmosphere and budget rooms, but you navigate on foot, dodge cows and motorbikes, and there's no vehicle access.
Best for: Budget rooms, lane-life atmosphere
Cantonment (Cantt)
£££ premiumThe leafy area near Varanasi Junction station, away from the river, where the bigger hotels and chains sit. Quieter, greener and easy for arrivals, but you taxi or auto to the ghats for everything.
Best for: Comfort, station access, families
Airport to city centre
| Option | Time | Cost | Book ahead? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-paid taxi from the airport counter to the ghats | ~45-60 min | about ₹800-1,000 (~£6.50-8) | Use the official pre-paid desk, not touts |
| Uber / Ola to the old city | ~45-60 min | about ₹600-900 (~£5-7) | Cheapest if the app has cars; drops at the lane edge |
| Auto-rickshaw share to the centre | ~60-75 min | about ₹150-300 per seat | Slow and basic; fine for light luggage |
When to go
Sweet spot: October to March is the window: dry, comfortable days for the dawn boat and the aarti, with the river at a manageable level after the monsoon. November to February is peak — clearest weather and biggest crowds, and December and January mornings on the water are genuinely cold, so pack a layer.
Avoid April to June, when the Gangetic plain bakes and Varanasi can pass 44°C, making the open ghats brutal by mid-morning. The July-September monsoon floods the lower steps and can suspend boat rides and the riverside aarti when the Ganges runs high; it's cheap and green but a gamble for the one thing you came to see. The huge religious festivals — Dev Deepawali in November and the Maha Shivaratri rush — pack the city to bursting, so book months ahead or steer clear of those dates.
What it costs
There are no direct UK flights to Varanasi; you connect through Delhi or Mumbai. Domestic Delhi-Varanasi hops on IndiGo or Air India run roughly £35-£70 one way and take about 1h25, while the overnight train from Delhi is far cheaper but a 9-12 hour journey. Factor the Varanasi leg on top of your ~£450-£650 UK-India return.
Daily budget per person
Carry small notes: boatmen, the aarti, chai stalls and the lane shops all want change, and breaking a ₹500 is a daily friction. The cheapest way to make Varanasi feel expensive is booking a private sunrise boat through your hotel rather than agreeing a shared one at the ghat yourself.
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